Influential Literary Moments

Throughout life there are experiences and moments that change the path of individuals. When reflecting on these it is easy to focus only on the biggest moments in your life such as your first job, going to college, or meeting your significant other. However, equally important are the smaller moments along the way that set you up for success later in your personal and academic life. One of the most influential literary moments for me is actually the first one I can remember. I used to visit my grandparents on a regular basis when I was young, I don’t recall the first time I went to stay over, but I do remember the first time my grandmother read to me. I could not have been much older than four years old at the time, and before I went to bed

She was an excellent reader and story teller, and I would stumble over words and struggle to make it through the book. Looking back on the situation I have a different perspective. She was doing her part to teach me a skill that is the bedrock to our academic system, and to this day I feel that I owe much of my academic success to her. I also feel very fortunate to have had a family that, throughout my life encouraged me to read and learn. Obviously my grandmother encouraged that behavior, but so did everyone else in my family. I was a very curious child, and throughout my childhood I was always intrigued by why and how things worked. This being the case, I had a seemingly endless list of questions for my parents, and though they answered the vast majority of them, there were some they did not have answers to. In these cases I was always encouraged to educate myself on the topic. This freedom my parents gave me not only helped to foster my curiosity and problem solving skills, which would eventually lead me to choose engineering as my college major, but also improved my reading and literary skills. This improvement in literary skills put me ahead of others like me, because it made me a more well rounded person in both my academic and personal